Not sure if my post went through, sorry.
Cyncical, you say that you “have very little problem saying that someone who drives to shul is still Shomer Shabbos.” Do you understand why to many them’s still fightin words, as it still falls under the rubric of melacha (Dayan Grunfeld’s magnificent short work, The Sabbath, is likely not as popular as Heschel’s but important to read.) and as such should be reserved for circumstances of pikuach nefesh? Also, you may just type fast so it’s easy for you to dash off all those “I think”s or “I don’t think”s. For most of us, it’s not up to debate or our consciences.
And to those who indict the leaders: sometime ago I read an article by a reform rabbi who became fully observant. While IN THE RABBINATE he had never heard of the concept of carrying on Shabbos. There are not many left who have any serious level of scholarship, and of those who do, the hashkafa gap is profound.
The joint Bet medrash idea won’t work if we can’t approach the text with some basic shared fundamental premises. AND, back to an original question of mine: are the laity prepped enough with basic general knowledge and skills for it to be a mutual give and take? Because if not, and it’s a matter of the more learned teaching the other, there are already programs in place. I know of a Partners in Torah program that regularly has dozens and dozens of pairs learning together, and PiT isn’t the only such program.
As for the baseball, I’m all for it. My kids have done that already 😉 (It’s publicized in the local Orthodox community but I don’t believe anyone’s been turned away.)